Carney made reforms a condition for recognizing Palestine. Here is where they stand

When Canada recognized the State of Palestine in September 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the decision depended on reforms promised by the Palestinian Authority. A year later, the letter in which President Mahmoud Abbas made that commitment remains unpublished.

Canada’s Privy Council has refused to release the letter, citing respect for international diplomatic relations. Carney presented the reforms, and the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to carrying them out, as the reason his government proceeded with recognition. Supporters and critics interpreted that position as Ottawa attaching conditions to statehood recognition.

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predicated on the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to much-needed reform

On governance, Carney said Abbas had promised to “fundamentally reform its governance” and that Canada had made clear Hamas could play no role in a future Palestinian state. Feda Abdelhady, the Palestinian ambassador to Ottawa, said in an August interview that reforms were underway and aimed at strengthening democracy. But she said progress faced limits while Palestinians continued to live with constant violence.

“We could do the most incredible job of implementing reforms from textbooks and curriculum and everything else, but the occupation remains,” Abdelhady said, describing the daily struggle in Gaza to secure food, shelter and water. Her delegation provided a Palestinian finance ministry report issued in July. It said the Palestinian Authority had completed 30 of 33 promised legal and social reforms over an 18-month period, including measures to strengthen the rule of law and investment laws.

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fundamentally reform its governance

The report also said Israeli economic policies made it impossible for the Palestinian Authority to finance social services or pursue further reforms. It cited the withholding of tax revenue collected on consumption and imports. Since Hamas’s October 2023 attacks, the article says Israel has cancelled thousands of permits for Palestinian workers, blocked roads used to export goods and capped financial transfers.

Carney also said the Palestinian Authority had promised general elections in 2026, with no role for Hamas. Palestinians last voted in 2006, while the Palestinian Authority later said elections could only take place a year after the war in Gaza ends.

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We could do the most incredible job of implementing reforms from textbooks and curriculum and everything else, but the occupation remains.